Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Friends and friendships

Great wonderful friends are truly a blessing. In every possible way aren't' they? I have been very fortunate to have girlfriends in my life for, well ok I’m not shy, over 40 years! Carolee and I met when her family moved down the street from my family, we were in 6th grade. Our friend Patti we met in high school, I believe it was 10th grade. And the 3 of us have been best friends ever since, through thick and thin. Of course we don't see each other like we did back then, but when we do it's like rolling back time! Patti's husband is in the military so they move around quite often, right now they are in Texas. Carolee and her husband moved to wine country a few years ago, so she is closer but still a drive to see her.But, Patti is here in Sac visiting her dad for 3 weeks. Yahoo! Last weekend we went to Carolee's home and spent the weekend! What a great time we had, her home sits on a little hill surrounded by vineyards. Just a beautiful spot to be. And we had a blast together!

This is a picture of us standing in front of Carolee's house. We arrived Friday night, after fighting traffic on Hwy 101, bla. Ate shrimp tacos, very yummy! Stayed up late just chatting and catching up! Saturday we took a little tour of the area, went to Sebastopol saw some really great sculptures. Drove to the little town of Bodega and toured the old school building where the movie "The Birds" was filmed. Then we went into Bodega Bay and ate clam chowder at The Tides, another spot where "The Birds" was filmed. We fed some gulls french fries… yes we were trying to encourage the birds!! Eeek! Took a drive up the coast. The northern CA coast is so very beautiful! Made our way back to Carolee's. That evening, we ate a wonderful meal prepared by Carolee and her hubby David. And then played dominoes! Sunday we went into Santa Rosa, to go to a little stitchery store Carolee found. Patti is the stitcher really, although I've attempted one or two. Patti is a wonderful quilter too, and we share a fabric addiction. We passed a little store called Material Girl and said hey can we stop there?? Carolee was kind enough to u turn and go back. She neither stitches or sews much well if at all, but she is a truly great friend and took us back. She sat and watched as we mulled over fabric in the sale bins. Material Girl is an independent quilt/fabric store and had some really great fabric patterns!!! So cute! Check out their website: http://www.materialgirlfabric.com/We did each end up with some fabric for our collections! Too much fun! The weekend was a blast. Thanks to Carolee (and David) for hosting us at The Nest!

I started a new health habit. I can say it's a habit now… I think… because last night was my 10th time in 2 weeks. I am attending water aerobics classes at the YMCA. Well mostly classes, there were 2 or 3 times I went during an open swim and used the water dumbbells and noodles and did the exercises I've learned. I feel so much better already! My hubby is going too, but not to the class, he goes and uses the equipment while I'm in class. Go honey!!! And Lindsey my daughter is going to class with me. Yeah!!! We are all trying to be healthier! I told Patti and Carolee about it, they were both curious so Patti went as a guest last night, she was funny! She kept giggling, just like I did my first day or two, doing those moves is awkward in the water! I think Patti is going to come with us again tomorrow, I'm looking forward to it! We get to see Carolee again on Saturday, they have an annual end of summer party at The Nest and it's is this weekend! So the 3 BGFL (Best Girlfriends For Life) will be together again!

On another note. This last week I struggled with issues that were happening in a women's art group that I did belong to. There is so much gossip and yammering going on in the group, I couldn't take it anymore, life is too short, so I quit. Sad because I've made some great friends, and I hope we'll keep in touch, but at the same time it feels so good to be done. So I'm putting this out there… As you make your way through your life, don't take to heart hearsay, gossip, or 3rd party information ever. Someone says that someone said about you… bla bla bla. Don't let it hurt you because it could be just unkind untruths, words that have been twisted and taken out of context. And that can unravel things faster than a kitten pulling on a ball of yarn!

2 comments:

Wise advice, TJ. And oh so very true. I enjoyed reading of your get together with old friends. I seem to have developed into no friends except online these days. We live out in the boonies, and I am quite carless of late. Couple that with fibromyalgia and I just don't get out much. Makes me sad as I need that girlfriend time. Sigh...

About Me

I live in a big old house, with my musical husband Joe. I have, 2 wonderful grown children, 1 dog, 1 granddogger, and 2 cats. Born in SF and adopted at birth by my wonderful family. Raised in a little green house in South Sac where cold, foggy winters were warmed by family and friends and hot summer days were cooled in our doughboy pool. My mom was a creative crafter; ceramics, sewing, and lots of glue and glitter. I lost her in 1987, she inspires me still. My interest in drawing began at age 9, I got a ‘learn to draw’ book from an Aunt for Christmas. I am a visual artist, writer and wanna be musician. Sewing at a very young age, included clothing, dolls and costumes. Photography is a passion; I had a small photo business once called “Take a picture it will last longer”. I‘ve written newsletters, designed CD covers, flyers and brochures. I learned piano as a child, flute as a tween, guitar as a teenager, now I’m taking Ukulele lessons! My creative interests turned just prior to age 50, when I had a crazy urge to paint. I've had a rewarding career as an analyst for CalPERS, I'm now retired, living and loving life and creating art, I hope you enjoy!

THINGS I LOVE!

sharing time with my husband joe, my children nick and Lindsey; my family, my friends; seeing my kids smile; the sound of laughter; our dogs bosco and chester; the smell of fresh rain; the sound and smell of the ocean; sleeping in with the window open and the covers pulled up to my neck; watching joe play his bass; seeing my beautiful daughter perform on stage; anything unusual; science fiction; everything beachy; music – blue grass and folk music or anything my husband plays; taking the scenic road; cannon beach oregon, seaside oregon, santa cruz ca, mendocino ca, dillon beach ca, san francisco ca; sweet and creamy coffee, scones; gardening and flowers especially daffodils and daisies; sewing; photography; new paint smell; the color orange; a really good long hug; and life in general!

My art

My art is whimsical and colorful; I am inspired by the mysteries and marvels of the natural world. Images come from my imagination, wacky sense of humor, the ocean, the moon and watching my hubby play music. More of my art to come, thanks for stopping by!

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Great quotes!

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is."- Albert Einstein

"Do ordinary things with extraordinary Love" - Mother Teresa

"Your wings already exist. All you have to do is FLY!!" -Unknown

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."